Develop Bugs

Unofficial T-Mobile UK Vario 5

Well, as Zero hour is fast approaching on what i have been told by business cs at T-Mobile (UK) that the TP2 aka Vario 5 will be out on Tuesday (Subject to anymore push backs) i thought id start a thread so we can discuss our findings etc.
I will be giving them a call on Tuesday to see if i can get my grubby little hands on it and will let you all know if i get any success!
Those of you that know me from the Kaiser Section of this board will know I did the same with the Vario 3 and ended up with a huge mass of "Im calling now, cmooooon" and it was rather funny to read!
Jas

I am interested in a vario 5 too. I wonder what the price and contract will be.

Well i spoke to a chap at T-Mobile on Tuesday last week and i asked about pricing and as it wasnt out he couldnt be sure etc but said he thought that it would be free on my account which is a Business Flext 35 + WnW Pro which comes to ~£45/month.
I'll give them a call today and see what they say.

jaso2005 said:
Well i spoke to a chap at T-Mobile on Tuesday last week and i asked about pricing and as it wasnt out he couldnt be sure etc but said he thought that it would be free on my account which is a Business Flext 35 + WnW Pro which comes to ~£45/month.
I'll give them a call today and see what they say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it ought to be free for £45 a month. I currently pay half that for the basic package (including the basic webn'walk) which is OK for me.

keep us updated mate, im interested as to when they'll be getting stock, contract runs out on wednesday and mpd have been messing me about a bit!
id imagine it'll be free on a £35/month contract...

Gah, you got a date!
When I rang Orange last week I got 'within the next two weeks'.

Blimey! That would be quick... i remember when we used to wait months from a HTC release to a branded version.
I currently have a pre-order paid for and waiting for an Acer M900 and (diferences aside) I will possibly get which ever I can first .... and as i'm already on TMob, this could be the deciding factor!
Although, after my TD I swore I would never get another HTC device .....

Surely this cannot be true!!!!
dahoarty said:
No FM Radio, but I never used it on the Touch Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No FM Radio? Then its a no-buy for me. I need my Absolute Radio going around the M25 in the mornings.

I don't get why everyone trips over the missing radio. If you use the radio a lot, why not buy a portable one (they are cheap) with a 3,5 mm headphone jack.

because i'd then need to carry ANOTHER device in my very small motorbike jacket pockets - so, a converged device (Read, contains FM radio) is exactly what i need.

I just called T-Mobile UK to enquire about the availablility of this phone as I too am due an upgrade and they say it is NOT on there list for release this week
John

hardly surprising that the left hand and right hand dont know what they are doing.
Your best bet, unless your in a REAL rush, is to wait. Wasn't it supposed to be tomorrow? Surley you can wait for that

yah tmob telling me nada to tomorrow

Well an update for you all:
Ive basicly spent the entire day on the phone to T-Mobile (reorganising contracts - not just pestering them about a release date!) and ended up getting quite high up the ladder and they have started playing the "Well it is coming soon but it could be another couple of months yet" card.
To be honest and sorry to let everyone down from an update point of view, ive just ordered one sim free from work so i wont be getting any more updates from them, Although i am on the "High Priority First Call" list so they will call me as soon as it comes out.... apparently, no doubt we shall know here before they ring anyway though.
Mine should be arriving tomorrow and ill try and do a nice review of it but to be honest theres already a few in detail reviews and i doubt mine would cover anything that they havent already done.
I am looking forward to it though i must say!
Jas

i've landed myself an unbranded touchpro2/mda vario v from mobilephones direct on t-mobile uk. yep they are offering the touch pro 2 free on a 18 month contract at 39.15gbp monthly. no need for CID or security unlocks when hardspl get released etc. next delivery on all items so i think thats a smashing deal!

i also signed up with mobilesphonesdirect for the pro2 after i've been told the vario5 should be out by the end of June which i don't want to wait. i prefer the phone unlocked and in it's original design.

mobilephones direct
Can I ask how you guys are getting the phone for free. When I rang up they told me to ring tmobile and find out what my upgrade value was (it was £200). I gave mobilephones direct this and they said the phone would cost me £250 to upgrade. Have you all got higher upgrade status or was I just unlucky and spoke to the wrong person!

silverwings2008 said:
Can I ask how you guys are getting the phone for free. When I rang up they told me to ring tmobile and find out what my upgrade value was (it was £200). I gave mobilephones direct this and they said the phone would cost me £250 to upgrade. Have you all got higher upgrade status or was I just unlucky and spoke to the wrong person!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's free on certain NEW contracts.

shingers5 said:
i've landed myself an unbranded touchpro2/mda vario v from mobilephones direct on t-mobile uk. yep they are offering the touch pro 2 free on a 18 month contract at 39.15gbp monthly. no need for CID or security unlocks when hardspl get released etc. next delivery on all items so i think thats a smashing deal!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need CID / Sec Unlock unless you got a pre-release version.
Even then most pre-rel devices are CID locked (by that I mean need Hard SPL to flash unsigned custom ROMs) still. You can check sec unlock status in the bootloader. Does it say Security unlocked at the top?
Dave

how did you get your upgrade value? I've tried and nobody from tmob will give it to me.
Neil.

HTC TP2: Can anyone answer my MPD - Vodafone & T-Mobile contracts question

I wanted to ask MPD about two different contracts I am interested in below as I really would like to order a Touch Pro 2 today, but they never answer the phone!:
T-Mobile
700
Minutes
per month Unlimited
Text
+
Unlimited mobile web
per month £34.26
Line rental
per month
was £35.00 3 months
Free insurance
+
2.5% VAT Off
Line Rental
Looks good until you look at the info, maximum browsing cost per day £1!!!!
Vodafone:
300
Minutes
per month Unlimited
Text
+
Unlimited mobile web
per month £34.26
Line rental
per month
was £35.00 3 months
Free insurance
+
2.5% VAT Off
Line Rental
Now this deal looks good too but says nothing about daily browsing costs, nor does it on the Vodafone website.
Can anyone confirm that both above deals incurr EXTRA browsing/email/surfing costs?
I want to buy my HTC TP2 today but there is no point getting it and having to incurr large daily charges for a device that really is going to primarily be connected to the net daily.
Cheers

Both deals have inclusive internet so there will be no additional charge.
The T-Mobile £1 charge only applies if you don't have an add on Web n'Walk package, which the contract you quoted does have.
I think the W&W deal has a fair use policy of 1gb. I have had W&W for a few years now and despite tethering to my laptop and using data on my WM devices heavily I have never had a letter from T-Mobile asking me to reduce my use.
However I am concerned about the difficulty in contacting MPD. My TP2 is misbehaving. Not sure yet if it is a hardware fault but lack of communications with MPD worries me. Guess I will have to contact HTC but I want the option of a replacement handset rather than a repair.

Thank you for you're reply aerotec.
Well to be honest I have contacted them by email (wednesday) with no reply and called them around 10 times since then with no reply including leaving voice mail this morning - this is very worrying and a major issue if anything goes wrong with the phone, it has totally put me off.
I'm considering Expansys now as they have returned all my emails quickly, I didnt even have to call.
I hope yours gets sorted mate.

if you go directly to voda mate, on their bussiness page, you can get a free HTC TP2, 900 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet for £34.03 + vat... hold in, i'll link it.
HERE IT IS
18 month contract... are the ones you list 18mnth ?
It looks alot better to go directly to voda or am i missing something ?
EDIT : To get the plan i was on about, hit the 18 month click box and click 'view all plans'

The MPD deal is still pretty good. I took the 12 month deal as it worked out about the same as buying it unconnected.
I just hope I can sort out the handset problem though it has worked ok today.
I drove 5hrs yesterday and the TP2 kept giving me connection errors and Tomtom kept hanging on me. Why can't my gadgets just WORK!

drawflex said:
if you go directly to voda mate, on their bussiness page, you can get a free HTC TP2, 900 mins, unlimited texts, unlimited internet for £34.03 + vat... hold in, i'll link it.
HERE IT IS
18 month contract... are the ones you list 18mnth ?
It looks alot better to go directly to voda or am i missing something ?
EDIT : To get the plan i was on about, hit the 18 month click box and click 'view all plans'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats the exact deal I got, although they don't have any more stock till monday apparently, but there was one available in my local store so she reserved it for me, and i picked it up same day.
MPD supply a non-brandaed, stock HTC TP2, where is vodafones is branded is the only real difference.

Thats a damn good deal, beats T-Mobile hands down.
I wish I could get one from my local store, but none have any.
I would prefer non-branded, but I'll definately take a look at that!
Thanks!
EDIT: Pretty sure -T-Mobile give you 1GB fair usage policy whereas Voda is 500MB?

I've just signed up for that deal aswell, and yeah, no stock till monday, I went to my local store and they'd just sold the only one they had... so i gotta wait
Apparently coz it's a bussiness phone local stores hold hardly any stock anyways..
More time to dowload goodies and fill up the 8GB card i just bought for it
EDIT : Also my local store didn't want to honour this deal as they said ' it's a bussiness only deal, were not a bussiness shop' so i'd recommend calling the number on the voda site, they were pleasant enough to deal with.

Don't go with T-Mobile, they're worse than useless.
In this thread, issues I've had with them:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=529984

SuperAdvan said:
EDIT: Pretty sure -T-Mobile give you 1GB fair usage policy whereas Voda is 500MB?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, thats right... I can live with that though... i doubt i'll download anywhere near 500MB in a month over the air... but horses for courses.

You guys are a great help thanks.
Ok I phoned Vodafone, they are currently stocking them in:
Middlesborough (18!!)
Guildford
Thats about it according to the really helpful lady that I spoke to.
I wont be using T-Mobile then based on your issues mate, cheers.

By the way, how bad is the branding? is it possible to get rid of it using another ROM yet?

SuperAdvan said:
By the way, how bad is the branding? is it possible to get rid of it using another ROM yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I quite like it (not sure how many share my opinion here though).
Was getting bored of the black HTC theme on my other HTC phones (TyTN II/Touch HD).
To change the ROM you'd just need to install a new bootloader to unlock it and then install whatever ROM. I think the stock ROMs are available on the wiki, bear in mind it invalidates your warranty though. I've not done it myself since having the original TyTN handset and loading a custom ROM but it's fairly simple, a mate of mine did his TP1 the other day when he was round my place, didn't really pay much attention but it was basically the same process.

Ok sounds easy enough, thanks.
So would this also enable me to download the official HTC ROMs and the WM 6.5? or do you need to have an unbranded HTC phone for this?
Sorry if this is a stupid question.
MPD got back to me finally so all good.
So my choice is now unbranded (at extra cost £89 with a slightly inferiour voda contract) or branded (free with a better contract) - hmmm!

from how i see it... i might be wrong (i'm still wet behind the ears) you cant flash any rom to any TP2 yet untill someone comes up with a hardSPL for it (dunno about un-branded though) someone please confirm ?
From what i've read in the rom devolopment section they're working on it.
Once that's done.. you'll be able to whack any ROM on it and get rid of any branding.
Till then you gotta live with the branding i think.

Thanks - all my questions answered, much appreciated all.

The branding is AWFUL! pink white grey and black
But it is very easy to undo without flashing. There is a thread in the themes section, install one file and its gone

got mine from MPD and yeah they were a pain to get thru too via phone sometimes and email! i am very persistent so kept ringing till i got an answer sometimes 5 times back to back but i get thru. emails were answered quite quickly and i even had my contracts emailed to me for signing so i could get phone next day.............impressive! i did however speak to another gentleman who had no clue what i was on about when i enquired bout the postage of my phone. i got the t-mobile combi 30 deal where you got 700 mins plus unlimited texts w/out w&w as i already have a t-mobile line fully loaded on flext 35. it cost me £29.15 monthly and i paid £45 for phone!
that deal for £34.25 is quite good and phone is free. you get an unbranded and unlocked handset which is the biggest plus. getting the phone from voda direct means that it will come with their version of the stock rom which is not very good at all! keep ringing till MPD answers as they do eventually..............you need to get phone unbranded to truly experience the beauty of the phone. that IMO beats the lack of contact from MPD. when you do get thru you will get sorted. i think it gets rather busy in there and it is only a small shop with limited number of staff. it is also a walk in shop not online based like others. if they are busy dealing with walk in customers they won't answer phone!

stunno said:
The branding is AWFUL! pink white grey and black
But it is very easy to undo without flashing. There is a thread in the themes section, install one file and its gone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that doesn't get rid of the overal performance as base rom will still be voda branded and doesn't work well at all

SuperAdvan said:
By the way, how bad is the branding? is it possible to get rid of it using another ROM yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
pretty bad from what i have been told! you can't flash custom roms at present till hard spl is released. this will also have a security unlock that will enable you to flash custom roms. ETA is not known but it is work in progress. in branded state you will only be able to flash voda updates. HTC rom or future htc updates you will not be able to use till hrad spl is available. even if you remove the look of the phone the base rom will still be voda and that is the issue. the unbranded handset with stock rom works far better than voda branded one! IMO the choice is clear!

Pros & Cons...? to buy direct from a network or not?

The Desire will be my first smartphone. I wanted to know whether it's recommended to buy direct from a network provider.
T-Mobile seem to have some reasonable deals for the Desire. Do I buy direct from them, or look to somewhere like mobilescouk or another reseller, where I think the phone is unlocked and comes with no network branding? (but the overall price is higher)
From what I've read so far, it looks like the main concerns with buying direct would be about network specific 'crapware', and potential delays in updates to firmware/ROM.
What are the Pros & Cons of either option? Any thoughts please?

My honest opinion is go for T-mobile... my handset will cost 24mths £330. But unlike just buying a handset from somewhere else, I get messages, minutes, internet included!
If want it unlocked I think it will cost £15. Regarding the updates not sure what the difference really is.. its my first Android phone and still learning (and not missing WinMo at all!)

I'm wondering about this myself. I have one on order from clove but my wallet is getting itchy. The 3G signal on t-mobile is dire round here.
[EDIT] SIM only from O2 will have to do I guess...

i ordered mine over telephone from tmobile and waiting for it probably till tuesday
tmobile has the best offers on their webiste, all the other retailers have worst deals, though tmobile has simlocked handsets and retailers dont. but for £15 you can get it unlocked. and service is quite good and no problem with returns if you see any faults.
if you dont want tmobile then dont look at other providers webistes such as vodafone cuz their offer is crap comparing to i.e. mobiles.co.uk
carphone warehouses offer is also really expensive comparing with others however you get your phone straight without waiting etc
retailers tend to mess up delivery times and might have some problems with returns.

I am currently sitting here banging my head against the wall trying to decide what to do aswell.
I'm with 3 on a £15 sim only and very happy with their coverage and i know they are releasing it in 2 weeks or so but i am getting the urge NOW !
It's so frustrating but i want to see what they're going to be offering contract wise.
Buying it unlocked now is going to cost me £400. 18 months with my current sim only on top would be £670.
A T mobile contract would be £434 over 18 months.
Every sensible bone in my body says don't buy it unlocked now but the evil bit inside me is shouting "don't get tied in, do it do it do it do it" 24 hours a day

GGG10 said:
Every sensible bone in my body says don't buy it unlocked now but the evil bit inside me is shouting "don't get tied in, do it do it do it do it" 24 hours a day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you with that. I've just been stuck with a SE C702 for 18 months and it's completely put me off contracts (and SE!). I'm probably going to wait for mine to come from clove just so I have the 7 day distance selling regs return period. Probably going with O2 PAYG as I hardly make any calls...
[EDIT] Also so I get the generic ROM without needing to do anything. I wouldn't want to kill my phone the first time I bought one SIM-free!

daverave999 said:
I hear you with that. I've just been stuck with a SE C702 for 18 months and it's completely put me off contracts (and SE!). I'm probably going to wait for mine to come from clove just so I have the 7 day distance selling regs return period. Probably going with O2 PAYG as I hardly make any calls...
[EDIT] Also so I get the generic ROM without needing to do anything. I wouldn't want to kill my phone the first time I bought one SIM-free!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea the 7 day return period comes in handy.
Now looks like i will definitely be going unlocked because 3 have just released their contract price and it's not as good as T mobs.
Just have to decide if i keep the £15 sim only now.

Hi - thanks for the comments so far.
If you buy direct from T-Mobile, is the ROM somehow 'locked' - or can you download & install updated ROMs from HTC's website when they're made available?
And if the ROM is T-Mobile 'locked', can any previous T-Mobile HTC phone owners comment on what T-Mobile are like when it comes to updating ROMs?

inoffthepost said:
Hi - thanks for the comments so far.
If you buy direct from T-Mobile, is the ROM somehow 'locked' - or can you download & install updated ROMs from HTC's website when they're made available?
And if the ROM is T-Mobile 'locked', can any previous T-Mobile HTC phone owners comment on what T-Mobile are like when it comes to updating ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
t-mobile phones are simlocked but unbranded, you can unlock your phone from their webiste for £15 which takes about a month or for 25Euros if you need it next day(from some website the link i forgot)
and if you decide not to unlock your device you will have to wait for t-mobile to release their version of the software htc released before

GGG10 said:
I am currently sitting here banging my head against the wall trying to decide w o do aswell.
I'm with 3 on a £15 sim only and very happy with their coverage and i know they are releasing it in 2 weeks or so but i am getting the urge NOW !
It's so frustrating but i want to see w hey're going to be offering contract wise.
Buying it unlocked now is going to cost me £400. 18 months with my current sim only on top would be £670.
A T mobile contract would be £434 over 18 months.
Every sensible bone in my body says don't buy it unlocked now but the evil bit inside me is shouting "don't get tied in, do it do it do it do it" 24 hours a day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you dont like the idea of being trapped then put it this way, if you have the upfront cash put that into a bank account and use that to pay the monthly bills that way if something new comes out you will be no worse off just buy that and pay off the contract and its still less. just go for it.

cez10 said:
t-mobile phones are simlocked but unbranded, you can unlock your phone from their webiste for £15 which takes about a month or for 25Euros if you need it next day(from some website the link i forgot)
and if you decide not to unlock your device you will have to wait for t-mobile to release their version of the software htc released before
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying that if I pay T-Mobile to get the phone SIM unlocked, that this would also unlock any restriction that T-Mobile have over the ROM? Is anyone able to confirm this?
TBH, having a T-Mobile 'tweaked' ROM, instead of an up-to-date HTC ROM, is the one thing that's putting me off from buying from T-Mobile. Looking at the threads about today's OTA firmware update, it appears T-Mobile are already behind the game. Or am I just worrying about something that I don't really need to?

inoffthepost said:
Are you saying that if I pay T-Mobile to get the phone SIM unlocked, that this would also unlock any restriction that T-Mobile have over the ROM? Is anyone able to confirm this?
TBH, having a T-Mobile 'tweaked' ROM, instead of an up-to-date HTC ROM, is the one thing that's putting me off from buying from T-Mobile. Looking at the threads about today's OTA firmware update, it appears T-Mobile are already behind the game. Or am I just worrying about something that I don't really need to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not 100% sure if unlocking debrands the phone as well
De-branding basically means removing awful operator firmware, and replacing it with the manufacturers original firmware. Hence converting your phone to the full spec as it was intended by the manufacturer. (the way it should be)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think your worrying about something you dont need to t-mobile have the best offers on the market so far andI dont think it will change quickly, even if you choose to unlock your phone youre still saving money comparing to other retailers prices
ok

deal to good to be true?

ok so heres my question. i currently have tmobile and have found a note (tmobile version) 2 on craigslist for sale. hes selling it at an insane price! however, im concerned about getting burned. whats to say he sells the phone to me and then tells tmobile its lost or stolen? will the phone not work for me? maybe im to cautious but even at a great deal im still spending around $500. however if it were an unlocked phone from another carrier it would be ok?
ive been hearing horror stories about this so im just looking to cover my bases. its still a lot of cash.
thoughts?

I would be EXTREMELY careful buying off CL expecially at low prices. I've been hearing and reading about people getting screwed. One guy had his phone for 3 months before it got locked down. Just have to use your best judgement.
Good luck
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

awrnsmn said:
I would be EXTREMELY careful buying off CL expecially at low prices. I've been hearing and reading about people getting screwed. One guy had his phone for 3 months before it got locked down. Just have to use your best judgement.
Good luck
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya im thinking i will not be doing ebay or craigslist. so it sounds like im stuck with amazon, tmobile, and overstock. any other sites?

also i think i have decided to go ahead and either buy the sony lt28h or the nexus 4. now to make my decision...

kdm212 said:
also i think i have decided to go ahead and either buy the sony lt28h or the nexus 4. now to make my decision...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I owned the Nexus 4 and returned it for the N2. Screen was kind of washed out, battery life was not great. The glass back always worried me. Non replaceable battery as over time batteries go bad. Very fast, smooth, 4.2 is nice. No Facebook sync. Photosphere is neat but a huge battery killer. Great price from play store. But, thats if you can get one.
N2 is ... worth every penny.

kdm212 said:
ok so heres my question. i currently have tmobile and have found a note (tmobile version) 2 on craigslist for sale. hes selling it at an insane price! however, im concerned about getting burned. whats to say he sells the phone to me and then tells tmobile its lost or stolen? will the phone not work for me? maybe im to cautious but even at a great deal im still spending around $500. however if it were an unlocked phone from another carrier it would be ok?
ive been hearing horror stories about this so im just looking to cover my bases. its still a lot of cash.
thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The easiest way to take care of this is to simply meet him at the T-Mobile store to verify the transaction. Tis what we did for our second note we found on CL. Working like a champ!

mdt73 said:
The easiest way to take care of this is to simply meet him at the T-Mobile store to verify the transaction. Tis what we did for our second note we found on CL. Working like a champ!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i did ask him for the imei. he did send it to me and even told me that he would give me the receipt. however, i have been told that even though its clean now it doesnt stop him from making a call as soon as i walk out the door.

kdm212 said:
i did ask him for the imei. he did send it to me and even told me that he would give me the receipt. however, i have been told that even though its clean now it doesnt stop him from making a call as soon as i walk out the door.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get it in writing. Make a "bill of sale" with the IMEI and signatures, yours, the sellers, and possibly if you go to a T-Mobile store ask if one of the workers can sign it also and get a pic or video holding the "bill of sale"? I know it might seem kinda weird but, you can never be too careful, these phones are pretty new and pretty expensive still, that is a lot of money to risk...

Are you by any chance on TMo classic plan? I have 3 lines on my plan and the closest one eligible for an upgrade is still 11 months away. I sold my S3 and ready and willing to add some money to buy Note 2 full price, either from TMo or ebay. But i took a chance and call TMo for an early upgrade, and they give it to me for the same price as upgrade. Of course with my luck, the day after I ordered, Cyber monday deal cut the price significantly, and they wont adjust the price for me but still i got it cheaper than my S3 sold price :victory:

Red-Dog said:
Get it in writing. Make a "bill of sale" with the IMEI and signatures, yours, the sellers, and possibly if you go to a T-Mobile store ask if one of the workers can sign it also and get a pic or video holding the "bill of sale"? I know it might seem kinda weird but, you can never be too careful, these phones are pretty new and pretty expensive still, that is a lot of money to risk...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That will do no good if he calls it in as stolen or had the value plan and quits paying on it. If he paid full price for the phone, that's the only somewhat safest way it would not get locked (unless called in as stolen)
I just don't want to see someone else get scammed. May be legit but you can never be 100% sure off CL unfortunately.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

awrnsmn said:
That will do no good if he calls it in as stolen or had the value plan and quits paying on it. If he paid full price for the phone, that's the only somewhat safest way it would not get locked (unless called in as stolen)
I just don't want to see someone else get scammed. May be legit but you can never be 100% sure off CL unfortunately.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it wil make a difference in terms of getting your money back...if he does call it in as stolen you have proof of sale so its obviously NOT stolen...and if he stops making payments you can get a refund..you would have to hand over your phone but at least you get your money back
i would just make sure that the document you create states that he phone is either completely paid for or that it states that the seller will continue to make payments until it is paid off in full
someone else posted the same question and i also gave him the same advice...as an experienced phone seller/buyer of ebay and CL i would say that the extra $50-100 that you save isnt worth the headache and paranoia that comes with the savings
if you are going to the tmobile store you could probably even ask the clerk to give you the info on how the phone was purchased and if it was paid off...maybe even ask him how long the account has been active and if the guy has a good track record (the seller will be standing there so its not like you are asking for confidential info without his knowledge)
in my opinion...the only way i would buy a phone that is cheaper than the average asking price is if the seller really did convince me that it was legit (has a legit reason for selling the phone where the price that he sells it for isnt his main focus - ie. he received it as a gift and making $500 on a quick sale is enough for him he doesnt care to squeeze the extra $50 and/or if the seller had a receipt for the phone)..if i have an uneasy feeling i would just pass.always go with your gut

kdm212 said:
ok so heres my question. i currently have tmobile and have found a note (tmobile version) 2 on craigslist for sale. hes selling it at an insane price! however, im concerned about getting burned. whats to say he sells the phone to me and then tells tmobile its lost or stolen? will the phone not work for me? maybe im to cautious but even at a great deal im still spending around $500. however if it were an unlocked phone from another carrier it would be ok?
ive been hearing horror stories about this so im just looking to cover my bases. its still a lot of cash.
thoughts?
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Click to collapse
If I were you, I would go to TMO and see what they can do for you about getting the phone directly from them. I was in the same situation as you were about a week ago....wanting the Note II so badly, but had already used my upgrade a couple of months ago for the HTC One S. I basically walked into my closest TMO store and asked the rep what they could do to get me the Note without having to pay full price.
In the end, they were able to get it for me for $200...after rebate, but I had to pay $150 migration fee (Originally $300). I then sold my HTC One S on eBay for $300. So how you look at it, I only paid $50 for the Note II!
Trust me, go into TMO and talk to them....that is one thing I like about them over the other carriers is their customer service is better, not awesome, but better than ATT & Verizon.

kdm212 said:
ok so heres my question. i currently have tmobile and have found a note (tmobile version) 2 on craigslist for sale. hes selling it at an insane price! however, im concerned about getting burned. whats to say he sells the phone to me and then tells tmobile its lost or stolen? will the phone not work for me? maybe im to cautious but even at a great deal im still spending around $500. however if it were an unlocked phone from another carrier it would be ok?
ive been hearing horror stories about this so im just looking to cover my bases. its still a lot of cash.
thoughts?
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Usually if you haveto ask this question its a bad idea.
its just the cheapskate in you trying to justify the purchase
here are your options
1) buy the craigslist note 2, worry about everything under the sun (is it stolen, does it WORK, are they gonna shut it down etc.) and take a chance of getting ripped one way or the other
2) dont be a cheapskate, save another 189$ dont have to worry about anything, ANYTHING!

i appreciate ALL of the feedback! at the end of the day the phone would have costed $450 plus 3.5 hours of driving round trip and probably $30 in gas. so for a total of $480 i just think ill save the few extra bucks and buy it from the store. i really do appreciate it.
just need to decide on a phone. n4, n2, s3, or the sony lt28h.
gotta admit $450 is a hell of a deal though lol.

kdm212 said:
i appreciate ALL of the feedback! at the end of the day the phone would have costed $450 plus 3.5 hours of driving round trip and probably $30 in gas. so for a total of $480 i just think ill save the few extra bucks and buy it from the store. i really do appreciate it.
just need to decide on a phone. n4, n2, s3, or the sony lt28h.
gotta admit $450 is a hell of a deal though lol.
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NOTE 2 for sure...you're in the note 2 forum so that will be the dominant answer.
but seriously the note 2 has been the best phone i have ever owned or used...and i am a phone fanatic...once you use it for a week you can't go back to smaller ones...whenever i see other phones now they look like toys...i remember a few weeks ago (before i bought the note 2 and had my nexus) i thought my sisters S3 was huge...now when i hold that phone in my hands it looks really small and dull
i definitely wouldnt put the s3 in this class of phones (unless its the international one)...i would only go with the n4 is your MAIN focus is on development and/or this phone is too large for your liking

Galaxy S4 from Craigslist - IMEI Blacklisted...options?

Hi All,
I searched and saw many threads about a similar problem, but my specific question is what can I do about this as far as getting rid of the phone? I learned my lesson the hard way - I dropped my HTC One and broke it a day before a business trip and I needed a phone. I am planning on switching to T-mobile in a month when my AT&T contract is up, so I decided to purchase a T-mobile variant of the Galaxy S4 on Craigslist. It was new, sealed, and cost $500 from what seemed like a somewhat reputable seller.
I got the phone and all was great. It was unlocked and worked perfectly with my AT&T SIM. I got home from the business trip, put in a T-mobile prepaid SIM card (so I could test the service at my house before switching) and got the dreaded "Not registered on network" error message when I tried to make a call. Sure enough, T-mobile said the IMEI had been blacklisted for "fraudulent activity." I believe the seller opened an account and then simply didn't pay the bill for the phone. I've bought quite a few used phones, but I learned my lesson this time. I even asked T-mobile if I could pay the remaining balance, or if they even wanted the phone back. I received a prompt "no" to each question. I asked if the phone was "stolen" and they said no as well - it was marked as fraudulent, but not lost of stolen. Whatever they want to call it, it don't work!
So my question is this (and sorry for the long-winded vent): can I sell this phone? I just want it gone. I look at it and I get angry and upset with myself for making this mistake. I know I will lose a ton of $$$, but I would rather sell it on eBay while FULLY disclosing the phone's history and let someone overseas use it or someone on AT&T use it. Am I violating any rules by doing this as long as I fully disclose everything I know? Also, if this is the wrong forum, I apologize. Thank you for any insight and to save you all the trouble - yes I screwed up and I'm an idiot. But, I'm not the thief here. I sure wish I could get a hole of the seller!
-Collin-

i had the same happen to me this weekend i bought a sealed s4 from cl i also payed 500$ it was for great for 3 weeks up until this weekend i wasn;t getting 4g data so i called tmobile and they told me that that they blocked the imei sue to the person deciding not to pay for the phone..i learned my lesson NEVER TO BUY any phones from Cl. i went to the store and paid retail price for a s4 and i have the receipt just in case tmobile comes back and try to screw me
CollinFX45 said:
Hi All,
I searched and saw many threads about a similar problem, but my specific question is what can I do about this as far as getting rid of the phone? I learned my lesson the hard way - I dropped my HTC One and broke it a day before a business trip and I needed a phone. I am planning on switching to T-mobile in a month when my AT&T contract is up, so I decided to purchase a T-mobile variant of the Galaxy S4 on Craigslist. It was new, sealed, and cost $500 from what seemed like a somewhat reputable seller.
I got the phone and all was great. It was unlocked and worked perfectly with my AT&T SIM. I got home from the business trip, put in a T-mobile prepaid SIM card (so I could test the service at my house before switching) and got the dreaded "Not registered on network" error message when I tried to make a call. Sure enough, T-mobile said the IMEI had been blacklisted for "fraudulent activity." I believe the seller opened an account and then simply didn't pay the bill for the phone. I've bought quite a few used phones, but I learned my lesson this time. I even asked T-mobile if I could pay the remaining balance, or if they even wanted the phone back. I received a prompt "no" to each question. I asked if the phone was "stolen" and they said no as well - it was marked as fraudulent, but not lost of stolen. Whatever they want to call it, it don't work!
So my question is this (and sorry for the long-winded vent): can I sell this phone? I just want it gone. I look at it and I get angry and upset with myself for making this mistake. I know I will lose a ton of $$$, but I would rather sell it on eBay while FULLY disclosing the phone's history and let someone overseas use it or someone on AT&T use it. Am I violating any rules by doing this as long as I fully disclose everything I know? Also, if this is the wrong forum, I apologize. Thank you for any insight and to save you all the trouble - yes I screwed up and I'm an idiot. But, I'm not the thief here. I sure wish I could get a hole of the seller!
-Collin-
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Hey Collin. I had a similar issue with an HTC one being blacklisted but thankfully I bought it from eBay and their buyers protection came into play and I got a full refund. Because blacklisting is a very effective way to lose a heck load of money, I now suggest not getting phones from craisgslist or actually meeting at a carrier store to check phone status before the purchase is made. I'd stick to buying on eBay or swappa..now my suggestion is selling the phone overseas where the blocked imei doesn't really work. That would be the best option for now and you'll lose money but because it is basically a relatively new phone, you should not loose too much. Hope this helps.
-piterson
Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Thank you guys for the thoughts. It's terrible that this sort of thing happens and personally, I wouldn't risk jail for 500 bucks. Hell, I wouldn't risk jail for any amount of money. It just blows me away that these people do this.
I guess what I will likely do is list it on eBay internationally with a full disclosure. Thankfully, my HTC One repair is finally complete and the phone should be back in my hands any day now. But, it's the developer edition and doesn't work well on T-mobile, so I'm back to square one for a T-mobile phone!
Anyway, sorry that this happened to you guys as well. It's just not as simple as it used to be, is it. Though I guess blacklisting has been used for a while now.
-Collin-

i listed mine on ebay with full disclosure and its not looking good..so far i have 4 days left in the auction and 1 day has passed & no one bid on it yet lol your best bet to purchase a new phone is go straight through tmobile unless you want to risk swappa or ebay then a month later if they cancel or don;t pay for the phone for it to happen again ... i would n;t risk it
CollinFX45 said:
Thank you guys for the thoughts. It's terrible that this sort of thing happens and personally, I wouldn't risk jail for 500 bucks. Hell, I wouldn't risk jail for any amount of money. It just blows me away that these people do this.
I guess what I will likely do is list it on eBay internationally with a full disclosure. Thankfully, my HTC One repair is finally complete and the phone should be back in my hands any day now. But, it's the developer edition and doesn't work well on T-mobile, so I'm back to square one for a T-mobile phone!
Anyway, sorry that this happened to you guys as well. It's just not as simple as it used to be, is it. Though I guess blacklisting has been used for a while now.
-Collin-
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Romcrazguy said:
i listed mine on ebay with full disclosure and its not looking good..so far i have 4 days left in the auction and 1 day has passed & no one bid on it yet lol your best bet to purchase a new phone is go straight through tmobile unless you want to risk swappa or ebay then a month later if they cancel or don;t pay for the phone for it to happen again ... i would n;t risk it
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That's a bummer. Did you list it internationally? I know you probably can't link to eBay, but can you give me the auction number? I want to watch and cheer you on
-Collin-

There are services on ebay that will change the IMEI for $50.

lancemoreland said:
There are services on ebay that will change the IMEI for $50.
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I appreciate that information. Unfortunately from my limited research, I think this thread will get locked if we even go down that road since it is illegal. Argh.
-Collin-

Wow. that sucks so much. The worst I have experienced in craigslist is some guy tried to scam me out of an iPod touch that i found. I still remember the email. It said something along the lines of:
Can you please send this device to my son in Africa? I will pay you full price for the phone + $50 dollars of shipping!
I knew it was a fake because 1) the email they sent was a very random email. (like [email protected]) and 2) PHONE? it's not a phone. thats how i knew that he was scamming multiple people and just copying and pasting.
Oh craigslist is full of scammers and idiots.

Yeah that's what these scammers are doing, buy the phone on a payment plan and not make the payment. A lot of times unknowing buyers get the phone and it will work for a month till payment is due but not paid. I see great deals on CL but steer clear.

The best thing to do is unlocked the device and sell it Internationally via eBay. I have a GS3 in my possesion that my wife's little brother bought from CL and was later blacklisted since the person reported it stolen two hours later after he took the cash.

lancemoreland said:
There are services on ebay that will change the IMEI for $50.
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He is right it is illegal and if caught could face jail time.
Wayne Tech Nexus

i just got a s4 on ebay for 420 i call tmobile they told the imei is clean that dont worry about future non payment fraud or blacklisted the lady told me when i get the phone is going to be in my account so the owner will have to pay any remaining balance but they cannot block the phone idk know im worry

Whenever I buy something from craiglist I always ask for 2 valid ID and have them photocopy.

I'll buy it for parts. If interested inbox me. Thanks!

I had the same damn thing happen but with a Galaxy S2 a while back. What I had to do is buy a used motherboard from a cracked screen one on eBay. Spent way more on the phone than I intended but all I did was switch the motherboards and voila. Good as new.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

Just sell try and sell it on Craigslist and ebay. Specify that it is blacklisted with tmobile but it ia unlocked so you can use it with att. Here's one and it's at almost 300 with 17h left on the auction
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=200948373767
Sent from Flip's Galaxy S4

elflip88 said:
Just sell try and sell it on Craigslist and ebay. Specify that it is blacklisted with tmobile but it ia unlocked so you can use it with att. Here's one and it's at almost 300 with 17h left on the auction
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=200948373767
Sent from Flip's Galaxy S4
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I read not long ago that AT&T and T-Mobile started sharing IMEI blacklist. Not sure if the policy is in effect yet or not.

baseballfanz said:
I read not long ago that AT&T and T-Mobile started sharing IMEI blacklist. Not sure if the policy is in effect yet or not.
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Op said he used it on att network so my guess is no
Sent from Flip's Galaxy S4

rona809 said:
i just got a s4 on ebay for 420 i call tmobile they told the imei is clean that dont worry about future non payment fraud or blacklisted the lady told me when i get the phone is going to be in my account so the owner will have to pay any remaining balance but they cannot block the phone idk know im worry
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No.
Walk away.